Brighton Just Stop Oil pitch invader fined and banned

Jack Cooper, 21, of Leylands Road in Burgess hill, was fined £40 and banned from attending football matches for three years.

The Just Stop Oil protester was handed the sentence after invading the pitch when England faced Spain in the Women’s Euros quarter-final.

The protest at the Amex on July 20 happened early in the second half, with Cooper quickly surrounded by stewards.

At the time, BBC commentator Rachel Finnis-Brown said: “It’s the slowest attempt at a protest I’ve ever seen thankfully."

Cooper wore a Just Stop Oil T-shirt. The group also demonstrated at Silverstone race track during the British Grand Prix last month.

He appeared at Brighton magistrates yesterday where he admitted going on to the play area at a football match contrary to sections 4 and 5 of the Football Offences Act 1991.

But Cooper’s efforts did little to distract the Lionesses as they beat Spain 2-1 to go through to the semi-finals.

The national side went on to win the Euros against Germany at Wembley.

Just Stop Oil demonstrators in protest at London’s Royal Academy

Just Stop Oil campaigns to stop the government from issuing new licenses to develop fossil fuels in the United Kingdom.

The group gained attention after protester Louis McKechnie tied himself to the goalposts at Goodison Park in March, stopping play between Everton and Newcastle.

Earlier this year, campaigners glued themselves to public roads, causing disruption for motorists.

Other Sussex members of the group include Catherine Maclean of Cuckfield Road, Hurstpierpoint, who was charged with aggravated trespass after an incident at an oil terminal in Thurrock in April.

She was ordered to pay £409 in fines and costs after admitting the offence at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

Protesters hit the headlines after gluing themselves to the frame of a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper at the Royal Academy in London on July 5.